Nominations are closing this week for Christian Retailing's ninth annual Retailers Choice Awards. Suppliers of inspirational gifts, books, music, DVDs and more may enter their best 2008 releases by Friday, March 6, in the contest, which honors the best Christian products of the year.

Until now, only products that released in the previous year qualified for nomination, but for the 2009 awards, products can be entered in the new Backlist category. Suppliers may wish to enter a book, CD or gift that was a Christian retail best-seller in previous years.

Among the 35 categories, suppliers not only have the opportunity to nominate their best products, but also an innovative Marketing/Promotion Campaign for a particular product. In addition, new to this year's competition are the Church Supplies, Christian Education and Top New Supplier categories.

The 2009 entry fee for publishers, music labels, gift companies and other suppliers remains just $50 per item plus a sample of the nominated product.

Since it was introduced in 2001, the Retailers Choice Awards program has been increasingly acknowledged in the industry as an important way of recognizing some of the most significant new life-changing materials. Last year, suppliers submitted 245 entries in 31 categories.

The winners of the 2009 Retailers Choice Awards will be announced at the International Christian Retail Show in Denver in July.

For full details, including a downloadable nomination form and a complete list of last year's winners, click here or e-mail Managing Editor Christine Johnson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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